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By Dave Lake
MSN TV
After an 18-month wait, "24" is back. Well, sort of. You'll have to wait until January for the start of the new season, but on Nov. 23 at 8 p.m. PT/ET you can whet your whistle with "24: Redemption," a two-hour, stand-alone adventure that bridges the long gap between Seasons 6 and 7. In the special, Jack Bauer is caught in a military coup in Africa, while a new president -- a female president -- is being inaugurated back at home.
That new prez is played by Tony winner Cherry Jones, who leaves a successful Broadway career to take on her first role in series television. Of the role, executive producer Howard Gordon said: "It's time to go back to an idealized president. It is an heroic administration. Cherry Jones plays the president brilliantly." And we were lucky enough to be there with her on set, in the Oval Office no less, with a handful of TV journalists, to get the scoop on President Allison Taylor from an actress who was very happy to be playing the role. Read on for what Jones had to say about the new season, the show's new president, and on having a woman in the White House.
On joining the cast: I'd never watched the show before joining it -- maybe just a couple of episodes. And I've been catching up the past several months, and I'm a complete "24" head now. I haven't slept the last couple of nights! I come into work and I feel like a tourist. I'm a little starstruck and a little gob-smacked.
On why she decided to leave theater for a role on television: It was a perfect storm of things. I'm 50 years old and I've been onstage for 30 years doing eight [performances] a week. And I'd just finished 708 performances of a play called "Doubt," which I did on Broadway and then toured the country. And I was tired and I needed a break from theater. Then, lo and behold, this meeting came up about this television show that I'd always heard was excellent -- but I'm not big on violence -- so I watched it and fell in love with it. And then the icing on the cake was that it was the president of the United States and not just a mom. Nothing against mom, but it was certainly a rather exciting role for a middle-aged actress.
On the president's role in "24: Redemption": I get sworn in on the Capitol steps! And it's going to be a nice clip to look at as an elderly woman. Basically, I'm the Plot B to Mr. Bauer's Plot A. He is in Africa and it happens to be the day of the transition of power as President Daniels is going out and President Taylor is coming in.
On her relationship to Jack Bauer: It's always shifting because Jack doesn't play by the rules. My president does and it's a very complicated relationship, but I'm interested to see where it goes next, just like the audience. You feel just like an audience member when you get a script. You get to the makeup trailer and you ask your friends if they've seen the draft of the next script because everybody's always dying to know.
On the breakneck pace of the show: I keep a little timeline in my head to try to remind myself of what's come before.
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